Write every day. That’s what writers often tell each other on social media (#amwriting, #WritingCommunity). It’s also what many famous writers, Stephen King included, tell people to do. But is it the right advice?

The Writing Muscle

Writing is an exercise and, like every exercise, it requires muscle, i.e., your brain. The more you exercise, the stronger you get. Overdo it though and you put yourself at risk for injuries.

Take a pulled muscle at the gym. It is not going to heal right away and could even tear if you push too hard too fast. Is it worth putting yourself out of commission for days, weeks, or months at a time because you were too proud to slow down or take a break when you needed one?

The same goes for writing. While you may not literally tear a muscle, you could experience burnout, which in my opinion is even worse. It can be hard to get back to the page, at least in a meaningful way, when burnout takes over. It’s just not healthy to go full throttle all the time.

Use It or Lose It

This is not to say there’s not an advantage to writing every day. When you write every day, you show commitment not only to your writing but to yourself. As they say, use it or lose it.

If you don’t write, you’ll never finish your manuscript. You won’t get published. Worse, you won’t hone your craft. Finding a way to motivate yourself to put words to the page is a good thing, right?

Some people find that writing every day builds momentum. It becomes second nature and less of a chore. Excuses fall to the wayside. When you write every day, you are less likely to face writer’s block. Better yet, you increase the chance that you will find yourself in flow, that beautiful mystical time when the words and ideas just come to you.

Leg Day

Some people sit at the keyboard (or notebook) for X amount of time every day. Others aim for a daily word count. Unless you’re facing a short deadline, rigid goals like these are not always sustainable. Life eventually gets in the way. You get sick, a loved one passes, a natural disaster strikes, any of a million unexpected situations arises. Not to mention that most writers have to work other jobs to pay the bills.

When you do not meet your daily goal, you can feel let down, and many people (hopefully not you) let the next day slide and then the next. They fall behind. Impostor syndrome creeps in. Before long, they feel too burned out to keep up or they’re not writing at all. I’ve seen it happen time and again with fellow writers and even myself.

It’s easy to lose sight of what’s really important when you zero in on one thing, like a daily word count or pumping up those biceps. No one wants to end up like that guy with bulging Popeye arms and scrawny chicken legs. It’s important to find balance.

Making Gains

Writing every day is only one part of an exercise routine that may or may not work for you. It’s what you do with your time that counts. The trick is to be open-minded and flexible with your goals.

Not every day will reflect your best work but each word to the page will help you grow as a writer. There will be days when it doesn’t come easy and days when it flows. Writing, like life, is unpredictable. Sometimes it’s enough to just be present. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.

So, whether you write every day, every other day, or just when the mood strikes, make it count. Not a word count, mind you. Make it count by finding joy in what you do. That’s a writing routine worth sticking to.